A splendid Paris antique market find. An antique rosary with beautiful large mother of pearl beads which have developed a deep lustre an d luminescence through touch of hand in prayer over many years.
 
There is also a matching decade bead rosary bracelet, it has a cross with the holy grail in the centre. It is clipped onto the rosary as found but would have been worn and used separately.
 
What is incredibly special about this rosary is that it is in the original box, showing it came from a very upmarket jeweller called E D Lenoir in central Paris on Boulevard des Capucines, between the Madeline / Place de la Concorde and the Opera Garnier. 
 
The details are imprinted on the edge of the box in gold and the velvet has imprints of the beads from storage, a detail I love, and the box is lined with silk and velvet. It has been well cared for with few age marks and the clasp clips shut. It is believed to date from the 1920s
 
The rosary has a 22" drop and the box measures 5" by 5". The bracelet is just under 6" from clip to fastening, plus the cross